


This Year Is Different

by PinkAngel



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 09:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5579815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkAngel/pseuds/PinkAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meredith Brody hasn't had a normal birthday in years. Could this year be different? Probably not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Year Is Different

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MeredithBrody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/gifts).



> This oneshot is for the birthday of a very awesome person. A person occasionally known as BonesBird. Sometimes MeredithBrody. Or just 'Awesome'. Happy Birthday!!

A mutilated corpse, a drug addicted marine on the prowl for her husband's murderer, and a house coated in blood and grease. All the evidence in the house had been buried under blood and enough grease to, as Christopher had put it, 'hold a fish fry for all of Louisiana for a month'. Meredith, Sonja, and Chris had spent three hours helping forensics comb through the house, and now Sebastian was trying to dig through the mess of evidence brought back to find something that would give them some clue. Something to either lead them to the murderer or the marine who was intent on getting her revenge.

Brody had long discovered that sometimes there just weren't enough hours in the day. Sleep was already a rarity for her, but during cases like this one it became even less likely that she would be catching a few hours of sleep anytime soon. She doubted she would even see her bed anytime soon.

Or the journalist she'd left in it early that morning.

She tried to shake herself out of that line of thought and focus on her work again. The most frustrating thing was that there was so little to actually focus on though. No clues meant no leads. Until Chris and Percy returned from hunting down the marine's parents for more information, she had very little to do. Pride had assigned her the duty of informing the local PD to be on the lookout and to put out the BOLO for the marine’s vehicle. She'd finished that several minutes ago. Now her thoughts were drifting back and forth between the bloody mess she'd shifted through a few hours before and the man who had taken time off work just to be in town, with her, for a few days.

She could think of several better ways she could have spent today.

"Suppose this wasn't the birthday you were hoping for."

Brody looked up from the crime scene photo she'd been staring at. Pride was already at his desk, shuffling through a drawer of his desk for something. She hadn't even noticed he'd returned. "Not really," she admitted.

Any other time, any other year, she wouldn't have cared that a case was stealing the thunder of her birthday, so to speak. In fact, for the last several years she'd done her best to ignore that the day even existed. The last several birthdays had just been another day to her. Another day to try to forget. Another day to push herself through. Another day when she was forced to face the most life shattering fact of her existence.

The day was just too much to even think about.

Until this year at least. For the first time since the 'Day-She-Refused-To-Think-About', Merri wasn't dreading her birthday. There were only two reasons for such a change. The first being that, now that she had found a home in New Orleans with people she could call family, she felt more settled. More at ease and not quite so alone. Pride and Loretta, especially, had tried to keep her spirits up leading to the day. Christopher had joked more all morning. And Percy was...Percy. The fact the newbie wasn't acting any different helped Merri ignore that there was even anything different about the day to begin with. Together, her team's efforts to keep her cheerful had done wonders for getting her through the week leading up to today.

Then there was James.

Perhaps the most notable difference to this year. He had shown up out of the blue, which wasn't all too shocking. The news that he had a few days off, all of which he planned to spend with her, had been surprising though. Just in time for her birthday and, in fact, when she would be off for the weekend.

Or at least when she was supposed to have been off.

Then the call for the case had come. Then the brutal murder had been described. She'd smelled the blood, seen the corpse, and wrestled with her years of experience that told her she shouldn't get so sick to her stomach over such a scene. It was nothing new, after all. Just another memory to add to her list of ghost to haunt her nightmares.

She wouldn't see James, they wouldn't get to celebrate in any of the wonderful ways he had described the night before, and chances were that she wouldn't be able to spend much time with him at all while he was in town. The situation couldn't be changed, she knew that, but it didn't stop her from thinking how unfair it was. The first time she had actually been looking forward to her birthday, and the excitement had been ripped away.

"If Chris and Sonja get anything then you can go home early," Pride said, breaking through her morose thoughts.

Brody tried to banish the morbid thoughts she'd gotten wrapped up in again and instead raised an eyebrow at Pride. "Early?" she asked dryly.

Pride smiled lightly. "On time maybe."

She chuckled despite herself. They both knew the chances of any of them getting off on time was even slimmer than the case ending before midnight. It was a nice thought though.

"Why don't you go grab some lunch," Pride suggested as he took a seat at his desk. "I'll be here if there's a hit on the BOLO."

Brody glanced down at the mutilated corpse in the crime scene photo. It wouldn't hurt to step back for a few minutes and get some fresh air. "Might as well. Want anything?"

Pride held up a mug of coffee while looking over his own copy of the case file. "I'm good. I'll get something later."

Brody nodded in acknowledgment and closed the file on her desk before standing and heading for the kitchen. She found the leftover vegetable lasagna Pride had made the day before and got herself a plate. Her thoughts began to drift again as she sat at the table to eat. She was just finishing up when Christopher's voice managed to get through her distracted state.

She could hear Christopher speaking in the adjoining office, but couldn't make out exactly what he was saying. He seemed upbeat though. If she was lucky, that meant he and Percy had a lead. She finished off her lunch quickly, then put the dish in the sink, and headed for the main office.

What she saw made her slow to a stop though.

There was someone sitting in the chair behind her desk. Even from behind, she knew who it was.

"James..." Her eyes flickered to the object sitting atop her desk in front of him. A cake. A large purple cake. Even from this angle she could see her name written atop in green icing. 

James turned the chair towards her with a light smirk on his face. "Figured there was no reason to let it go to waste," he commented as she stared at the cake.

She shifted her gaze from the cake to James, meeting his eyes as a ghost of a smile spread over her face. The sentiment wasn't entirely 'James like', but the spontaneity was very much him. She loved that about him, and he knew it. Even if a part of her wanted to be irritated at him for showing up so randomly where she was working, sitting at her desk, and sharing who-knows-what-kind of stories with her co-workers...she couldn't bring herself to be too mad at him. Not for long anyway.

It was surprisingly nice to see him socializing with her friends. Not too long ago she would have already kicked him out of the building just to get him away from her professional life. Now her personal and professional were mixing far more regularly than she would have allowed a year before. She found she didn't mind too much.

Especially since James had brought cake.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything," Percy spoke up after a second's pause. "But do you think we could cut this thing before anyone grows any older? I want some cake."

Brody chuckled and moved over to her desk. As she did, James stood up to meet her. Once close enough she stuck her finger in the icing as James leaned over to kiss her cheek. She pointedly ignored the amused smirks everyone seemed to be directing at her.

"Let's get this sliced and eaten," LaSalle said, bending down to pick up the cake. "There's a birthday girl who needs singing to," he added with a wink before moving towards the kitchen with the cake.

"I hope that doesn't mean you plan on singing," Percy quipped.

As the two other agents took the cake to the kitchen, Pride followed after them. He gave her shoulder a squeeze in passing with a knowing look. Brody watched them go before facing James again. "Being sweet now?"

"I can do sweet," the journalist replied. The mischievous glimmer in his eyes spoke far more about his real intentions than anything else.

"This doesn't mean I'm going to say yes," she pointed out.

"Say yes to what?"

They were both well aware that he knew what she was referring to. They'd had a long talk about it the night before. "You know what."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to jog my memory, Agent Brody."

Merri took a step closer. She could hear the others laughing about something in the kitchen and was relatively sure she and James didn't have an audience. She lowered her voice, meeting his eyes with a mischievous smirk of her own. "I'm not going to get your name tattooed on _any_ part of my body."

James nodded slowly, his expression remaining amused. There was something off though. He was planning something, and she could see it in his eyes. "Fine," he relented. "I have a better idea anyway. Well, I don't know if it's _better_...."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure the answer is still no," she deadpanned. The list of things he'd asked her the night before had been extensive and the answer had always been no. Almost always. If she'd had her handcuffs actually with her.....

"You don't know what it is yet," he pointed out, interrupting the mental images that had started to fill her mind's eye. "Maybe you should let me ask first."

"Fine," she said. "Ask. But make it quick. I want to get some of my cake before it's gone."

James placed his hands on her hips and lowered his head until his lips ghosted against her ear. "Marry me, Agent Brody?"

Brody's eyes widened and her back stiffened.

She should have been expecting it. She should have known he would do something to throw her for a loop. This had probably been his plan all along.

What could she say though? No? She didn't want to say no. Not anymore. They'd made so much progress in their relationship the last few months that she didn't have the heart to turn him away. Yet a part of her still held firm to doubt. What if it was just a repeat of last time? What if she had opened herself up to him again, just to have it all ripped away once more?

She wasn't sure she could take that again.

"MB...."

He wasn't pushing. Didn't sound impatient. He was just waiting. Waiting for her answer.

She wasn't sure what made her do it or why it all suddenly seemed so crystal clear.

But, for whatever reason, the whispering voice of doubt faded away.

"Yes." She pulled away just enough to see how he would react while a grin forced its way onto her face.

James smiled widely, and a little smugly. "I'll try not to get use to that answer."

As Brody pulled James into a kiss, she realized their relationship wasn't destined to be normal. No more normal than her family was, or her birthdays, or even her life in general. And as James deepened the kiss, she also realized that she no longer cared about normal.

Normal was relative anyway. And she was perfectly happy with her version of it.

 


End file.
